


Guilt is Nothing Without Action

by SusanShining



Series: Scars of a Child [4]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:23:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27494179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SusanShining/pseuds/SusanShining
Summary: Varian knew that something was wrong with the tiny wooden statue.The only problem was, it seemed no one else seemed to feel that way.
Relationships: Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Series: Scars of a Child [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924363
Comments: 12
Kudos: 81





	Guilt is Nothing Without Action

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, just a friendly reminder that this was originally planned as a *one-shot,* not an entire re-write of the show, so... y'know just keep that in mind for if I ever decide to drop it.

Varian knew that something was wrong with the tiny wooden statue.

No one else seemed to think so, however, and it’s not like they would take the time out of their “happiness induced” frenzy to hear him out. He barely knew what they were seeing, but he picked up bits and pieces. Rapunzel seeing the king, Shorty seeing an army of pigs, Cassandra having fun with her father while receiving an award or something, Lance and Eugene… well, he didn’t know what they were seeing, nor cared, but anything that had to do with addicting hallucinations, couldn’t be good.

“Are you  _ sure  _ you don’t want a turn?” Lance asked him, holding out the object. “It might be good for you to have some fun for once.”

Varian raised an eyebrow at him but shook his head. Lance, frowning at this, he tossed the totem into Varian’s hands without warning and Varian instinctively caught it, ready to drop it if something happened, but... 

_ “Nothing.”  _ he signed them with one hand.

“Huh,” Lance walked over and, much to Varian’s relief, took it out of the kid’s hands. “Maybe it has something to do with your gloves. Like, you have to have it touch your skin to make it-”

“Then have him take them off!” Eugene jumped in, lunging at his hands and ripping the black gloves off his hands. He scowled at this and reached for them back, but Eugene’s firm expression made him pause.

“ _ Please  _ Varian? Just this once? I pro- I swear it’ll be worth it.” he told the boy, holding the gloves over his head where he  _ knew  _ he couldn’t reach.

Sighing, he thought for a moment before huffing and holding his hand out expectantly to Lance, the man some-what gladly handing it over.

He held it for a couple of seconds, still nothing happening. And he was just about ready to give it back to Eugene in defeat when he heard a strikingly familiar voice in front of him.

“Varian?” 

His head snapped up and stared in disbelief at the person he saw. Quirin was standing strong, unfaltered, and seemingly unburdened like he always did. He was smiling at Varian, eyes soft and… and  _ proud  _ as they met Varian’s. The boy wanted nothing more to do than run up and wrap his arms around his father’s neck. He wanted to hold him close and never let go.  _ It had been so long… _

He dropped the totem and it landed with a  _ thunk  _ on the sand.

The illusion disappeared immediately, but not without his father’s face morphing into a look filled with so more disappointment. Not rage, it was never rage, but somehow it was worse.

Varian looked away from the fading image and turned his gaze down to the wooden statue, feeling numb and… hollow. 

_ It was just an illusion. It wasn’t real.  _ He tried telling himself, but some part of him wanted  _ so badly  _ for it to be real. And now, he understood what everyone was going on about.

The only difference between theirs and his own was that his would never happen.

“Varian?” Cassandra reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Varian you’re… you’re crying. What’s wrong? What did you see?”

He jerked away from her touch, not wanting the affection. Frustrated, he scrubbed the streaks of tears off his face. _“Not working.”_ he eventually signed, sitting down against a tree as Lance translated for the girls, trying to look casual, but no one looked convinced. Neither was he though, the disappointed look his father gave him burned into his brain.

Rapunzel moved to walk up to him, but stopped picking the idol up from off the ground and looking out at the beach, probably some imaginary figure she was seeing with the idol. And he hated it. Hated that she was able to look at it and not be reminded of the worst mistake of her life.

Eventually, Rapunzel sighed, sitting down next to him, not too close though, she never got closer than 3 feet if she could help it. She didn’t say anything, avoiding his eyes as she seemed to have an internal battle with herself.

He scowled at her, rage building up in him, but he quelled it. Just a little.  _ “You can leave, I’m fine.”  _ he signed and Rapunzel hesitantly looked at the wooden statue when Lance explained to her what he said. He had been doing that a lot lately, Cassandra and Rapunzel not taking lessons in the language, and the older man needing to translate.

“Varian…” Rapunzel began a bit hesitantly, but he wasn’t hearing it. She didn’t just get to ignore him for the last couple of months on the road and only _now_ try to help. ”If something’s wrong, you should share it. We can help you, just-”

Abruptly, he stood up and strode over to Eugene and snatched his gloves back, shoving them back onto his hands. He went to leave, but Rapunzel seemed as if refusing her help wasn’t something she could stand for and grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“Varian I- I can help-” she stopped when he glared at her and let go of his hand. “Would you please let me?”

He only scowled again and turned away, he… he needed to getaway. Get away from her- from everyone. Luckily, Lance seemed to understand this and decided it was time for a topic change.

“Common Princess, I’m sure what he saw couldn’t be any worse than an army of pigs bowing to your will.”

“Agree to disagree,” Shorty said, holding up the totem.  _ When did he get it? _

“Hey! I was having a turn!” Rapunzel protested, going to chase the pint-sized man.

“Runaway with me Philadelphia, they will never come between us,” he said, turning to a small rock and picking it up, Rapunzel lunging for the statue.

“You know, I think that you’ve had enough of a turn.” Cassandra placed her hands on her hips impatiently. “I had it for like, a minute before Eugene stole it.”

“And I had it for less.” Eugene countered, snatching the idol from out of Shorty’s hands as the man dashed past him. Shorty, however, didn’t stop running away with the stone.

Rapunzel huffed at Eugene, “Well I found it! It should belong to me!”

“Well it’s from this island, so shouldn’t it belong to the Lorbs?” Lance asked, but the others ignored him.

“Oh, so we’re doing ‘finders keepers’ are we?” Cassandra asked, stepping between the angry couple. “Then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind it if I claim ownership of the caravan!”

“What?” Eugene reeled on her. “You can’t just-”

“Well,  _ I  _ was the one who picked it out!” Cassandra met his glare.

“Oh come  _ on. _ ” Eugene turned to Rapunzel. “Blondie back me- and… she’s gone.”

“So is Varian.” Cass pointed, looking around them. “And… so is Lance.”

“And Shorty.” Eugene huffed. “Where did everyone go?”

“Probably away from  _ you.”  _ Cassandra spat.

Eugene glared but didn’t retort, choosing to march off in the direction of their hut. Cassandra stared after him for a moment before following behind.

“Do you think they’re in there?” she asked. 

“Maybe Rapunzel wanted to have some time alone with it,” Eugene suggested. “Not sure about Lance and Varian though, maybe they went to work on the raft.”

\-----

“You saw your father, didn’t you?” Lance said behind Varian and the kid jumped, startled. Once they had begun fighting over the totem, he had taken his chance to leave, finding his solitude on a low tree branch overlooking the sea he had come across on their first day. It was a beautiful view, and he had found peace there.

So of course Lance had followed him here.

_ “No sneaking.”  _ Varian signed and Lance chuckled, sitting down next to him.

“No promises. Ex-thief remember?” Lance gave him a small smile. “And don’t think I didn’t see you avoiding my question. It was him, wasn’t it?”

Varian sighed before nodding.  _ “He looked happy, but not there.” _

Lance went silent at this, thinking for a second before speaking. “I saw you.” 

Varian turned to Lance, surprised and confused and the man went on to explain. 

“I saw you… smiling. Happy, and… I know I never heard you speak before, but… you  _ talked. _ ”

Varian blinked at Lance, the words struggling to form in his head.  _ Lance… wanted him to be happy?  _ The thought was seemingly obvious as if it was so clear and he was an idiot for thinking otherwise, but at the same time…

_ Lance wanted him to be happy. _

“I know it’s a bit sappy, and it’s not like, your every-day wishes, but I- I just- I really care about you and-” Lance stared at Varian, reaching over and grabbing hold of the boy's hand. “Hey… kid it’s okay, I… I’m telling the truth alright?”

Varian pulled away and scrubbed his leaking eyes, but Lance wouldn’t let him go that easily and gently bringing the boy into a warm hug, and Varian accepted it without thinking, burrowing his face into the older man’s shoulder and Lance squeezed him close and whispering soothing words that made Varian want to never let go.  _ You’re an amazing kid Varian. And we’re here for you. _

They stayed like that for who knows how long before Varian shifted, still hugging Lance close, but moving down, turning his head to face the sea. He unwrapped his arms from Lance, a bit reluctantly, to speak if he needed. He let out a relaxed sigh and a smile glazed his face, leaning heavily onto the other man’s side. There was just something about Lance that made him feel safe, warm, and protected that he never felt with anyone else before. And if he was being honest, he could never get enough of it.

_ “Thank you.”  _ Varian eventually signed. There was just something about that certain sign that gave him nostalgia whenever he thought about it. It was taught to him on the day Eugene and he made up, at least Cassandra and Rapunzel were…

He frowned, a shadow grazing over his expression and Lance noticed.

“Varian?” he asked, and the boy lowered his gaze.

_ “Rapunzel.”  _ he signed, and Lance immediately understood.

“You’d think that they'd be better at opening up to you.” Lance hummed. “But… if there’s one thing that I know about her, is that Rapunzel doesn't like facing her mistakes. And, no offense kid, but you’re basically a living reminder to her that Fredrick is a horrible person.”

_ “She acts like she hates me half the time,”  _ he said, and Lance shook his head, but Varian went on.  _ “We don’t talk, she ignores me, doesn’t get close.”  _ he looked down.  _ “Thought things would change.” _

“Hey, no, it’s okay. She doesn’t hate you, and she’ll understand if it’s not the best time to be around you. Especially if both of you are seeing your dads- but don’t worry, it  _ will  _ get better. You both just need to be patient with each other. ” Lance assured him and Varian nodded after a beat, wrapping his arms around the other man’s waist. They didn’t move from that position for another couple minutes, just… being there, taking in the beautiful beach scene before Lance sat up.

“Well, I think we should go make sure that they aren’t killing each other over that stupid statue, eh?”

Varian grinned and nodded,  _ “Wonder what pets are doing.” _

\------

Ruddiger let out frustrated chitters as Pascal moved the pawn forward and Max let out a taunting neighing sound. Fidelia rolled her eyes and went back to eating her apples. They loved their humans, but after weeks on the road with almost no separation from them, they had been needing a break from all of the human antics they got into. (and if you asked Ruddiger, it was  _ totally  _ his idea)

The raccoon stared at the chessboard, trying to think of his next move. He  _ would not  _ lose to this wannabe frog.  _ Especially _ not with his apples on the line.

Eventually, he spotted a move so wonderful, so  _ deliciously  _ diabolical that he briefly wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before.

Smirking, he moved his knight so that it was attacking both Pascal’s queen, and king at the same time, and let out a malicious laugh at the shocked look on the chameleon’s face.

Oh yes, he was having  _ fun. _

\-------------

“Probably having a nice time together.“ Lance told Varian and the two boys stood up, walking across the beach towards their hut. There was a commotion going on ahead, and Lance and Varian quickly rushed forward.

“No! It’s MINE!” Rapunzel was trying to climb up the tree, idol in hand, and glaring down at Eugene and Cassandra.

“You’ve had it for the last  _ hour!”  _ the lady-in-waiting complained. “It’s my turn!”

“I’ve barely had it!” Eugene snapped. “Blondie common! Come down and let someone else have it!”

“No!” Rapunzel went climbing higher into the tree, but Cassandra tugged on her falling hair and the princess yelped, holding onto the tree for dear life. “Hey! Let go!”

“Give us the statue!” Cass demanded, pulling on her hair roughly and Eugene, unbelievably, joining in, and Varian had seen  _ enough.  _

“HEY!” he shouted, grabbing their attention and he resisted the urge to grin stupidly. ‘Hey’ had been one of the words he found out he could still say. After he realized that some words didn’t  _ need  _ his tongue to move, he had been eagerly awaiting a time where he could use it.

Lance seemed equally shocked at this, but his face morphed into a grin and he quickly went to back Varian up. “Look at you three! It’s a stormin’  _ statue!  _ Whatever you’re seeing, that’s just  _ fake  _ happiness!”

Eugene and Cassandra blinked at them, almost as if they had come out of a trance, which by the looks of it, they probably had.

“Guys I-” Eugene looked down, ashamed. “I’m sorry, Lance is right, I shouldn’t have-”

“ _ We  _ shouldn’t have.” Cass corrected him, giving him a small smile before looking up at the tree. Rapunzel had reached the top. She was looking down at them, still carrying the idol, but she was frowning. And, after a moment, she used her hair to swing down from it safely and bit her lip.

“I… I’m sorry guys, you’re- you’re right.” she stared at the statue for a moment before her face hardened and she shoved the object into her bag. “The only option is to get rid of it. And… I found it, so it’s my responsibility.”

Varian studied her for a second, the rest of the group growing silent before he marched toward her and held out his hand.  _ “Give me.”  _ he signed and when the princess took a step back, he immediately knew that she had no intention of getting rid of it.

_ “Princess hand it to me.”  _ he insisted, more desperately this time, but Rapunzel’s face only morphed into a scowl and she backed away further, glaring at Varian’s outstretched hand.

How  _ dare  _ he try to take it away from her. It made her happy! What was wrong with that?

“Rapunzel?” Eugene was walking up to them along with Cass and Lance. “Blondie… give Varian the statue. He’s the least likely to be affected by it.”

“Uh…” Rapunzel bit her lip, trying to think of what to do. “It’s just… I… need to do this for myself?” she attempted, but no one seemed convinced.

“Raps…” Cassandra’s voice was hard, “Give Varian the statue.”

“Well, I know that it would be  _ best… _ ” she trailed off. “But…. I- you know what? I’m just going to go-” but before she could rush away, a small, gloved hand reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.

Varian met Rapunzel’s glare with a shake of the head and, with his free hand, snatched the statue out of her bag and taking off across the beach.

“Hey!” Rapunzel darted after him, evading her other friends’ attempts to grab her. Sand flew from where her feet met the ground and she was quickly catching up to the mute boy. 

Varian pushed himself as hard as he could, choking back a sob when he heard the sickeningly familiar sound of harsh,  _ angry  _ feet chasing after his fleeting figure. 

_ They were going to catch him.  _

They were going to catch him again and take back down into that dark room. They were going to hurt him, and yell at him, and he was going to be thrown into the dark and he wasn’t going to see Lance or Eugene or  _ dad-  _ and-

Varian flew back with a strangled yelp, the princess finally reaching him. She grabbed the boy by the scruff of his shirt and pulled then to a screeching stop. They both lost their balance and were sent toppling over each other into the sand, the white material flying into the air and he coughed, trying to get it out of his throat.

“Give it back you little thief!” Rapunzel snapped, kicking Varian away harshly in the chest and ripping the wooden object from Varian’s shaking hands, not seeming to care about the boy slipping into a panic attack. “You think just because you’ve been traumatized that gives you the right to take this from  _ me? _ ” she stood up abruptly, towering over the trembling boy that was staring at her with those big,  _ annoyingly  _ scared blue eyes.

“I guess all those months down in jail weren’t enough to teach you to never mess for me,  _ or _ my family.” she glared down at him, ignoring the sounds of her other friends rushing over. “Maybe once we get off this gosh-forsaken island we should make a small stop at the nearest county prison huh? Leave you there for however long it takes to make it to the moonstone?” She looked down at the object in her hand, ignoring the growing feeling of regret in her gut. She would  _ not  _ be treated this way by a  _ peasant. _

“Who knows, we might even leave you to rot down there before we eventually forget about you. It wouldn’t even be hard with such an insignificant worm such as yourself.” she turned her gaze away from his tear-streaked, heart-wrenching face. He didn’t deserve the statue  _ or  _ its happiness. It belonged to  _ her,  _ and her alone.

“Raps, common, that was uncalled for-” Cassandra began, but the princess reeled on her.

“Oh? So you think that pathetic boy had the right to steal from me?” she scoffed. “Some guard you are.”

“Blondie he was trying to  _ help  _ you.” Eugene stepped in between her and Varian. “Please Rapunzel, you aren’t thinking right. Give us the totem and stop this. You’re not yourself”

“Apologize?” she rolled her eyes. “Did you happen to forget that you’re talking to a princess, or did I suddenly lose my title on the road?” she met his shocked gaze with a glare. “I don’t need to do anything  _ Rider. _ And since the topic is out there, how about you say sorry for pulling on my hair and I might let you out of being punished for assault.”

“Rapunzel!” Cassandra stared at her with wide, hurt eyes and grabbed her arm. “We’re your friends, we just want to help-”

“You can  _ help  _ by letting go, Cassandra.” the princess pulled her arm free. “And need I remind you of your place? You are a  _ servant. _ ” she turned to Varian who was currently crying his heart out, rubbing small circles on his chest, probably trying to say one of those stupid hand-words he was learning. Lance didn’t hesitate to rush over to the shaking child and wrap his arms around him. Varian accepted the comfort gladly, sobbing into the older man’s chest as Lance attempted to soothe the boy.

How completely and utterly  _ pathetic  _ could he get?

Turning back to the lady-in-waiting, she pointed to the crying child and placed her hands on her hips. “Are you really siding with the thief when  _ you  _ were ordered to protect me, your ‘best friend?’”

Cassandra studied her for a beat before her expression hardened. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

The princess stopped, shocked for a moment before glaring at the woman. “Then maybe once  _ my father  _ hears about this you might join the little twit in a  _ cell  _ you-”

“YOUR FATHER WAS A JERK!” Eugene snapped from his place at Lance’s side, and when the two girls looked over and him, he took a deep breath and sighed. “Rapunzel look at what you did to Varian. Is whatever you’re seeing worth _ this _ ?”

“Oh, you do  _ not  _ get to speak about my father like that!” the woman reeled on him. “He  _ regrets _ what he did! He just-”

“Is that what you’re seeing?” Cassandra asked softly, understanding showing in her eyes, and the princess stopped mid-rant. “You… you realize that it’s not real, right Raps?”

She froze, suddenly feeling exposed and… cornered. “I- N-no. It’s not fake. He- It’s just-”

“Kapunzel!” a small voice shouted as a troop of Lorbs rushed down to the shore, accompanied by… Shorty? Where had he come from?

“You were right great master, it  _ is  _ the idol!” Alfons said to the bearded-man.  _ Master?  _ What was that all about?

Before she could ask, the man nodded and spoke. “Now, if that’s done, Philadelphia and I have some coconut-watching to do.” Shorty, still carrying the rock, said, calmly walking down the beach.

She would never understand that man.

“Kapunzel, you must give us the idol,” Alfon told her, climbing onto two of his friends to get closer to her eye-level. “It is the Idol of Vershaftsbezeigungengien, and the longer you hold it, the stronger its grip on you will become.”

The blonde rolled her eyes again. “Heh, funny. ‘Cuz I’m looking at it right now, and it doesn’t  _ have  _ hands.”

“That is not what we meant,” the Lorb leader said, immune to her snarky comment. “For this doesn’t need limbs to harm, but it will destroy all who seek to possess it-” 

“Destroy?” she stared at them, confused. “How is making me happy destructive?”

“Really?” Lance snapped at her from his spot in the sand, holding the still-trembling Varian closer as if he was going to be taken away. “You really can’t see how you ‘being happy’ is destructive Your Oh-So Righteous MAJESTY?”

“Lance-” Eugene warned, but Lance didn’t stop.

“No!” he growled, a harsh, unfamiliar sound that came out of his throat. “She doesn’t just get to treat Varian like that and pretend like she’s not in the wrong here.” he glared at the princess. “Now give the Lobs the what-ever-it’s-called and suck up your selfish mindset that just because you want to have the perfect family, that gives you the right to snap at anyone who disagrees with you. Now put the idol down or I’ll come over there and  _ make you.  _ You’re  _ wrong  _ about Varian _. _ And he doesn’t need your permission to live his life. _ ” _

It was as if he had lit a match.

The effect was instantaneous, and she gasped in horror as her mind cleared, her grip on the idol going slack and it fell to the ground, making a small dent in the sand.

“Varian I- I’m- I didn’t-” her breath hitched and she wrapped her arms around herself, horrified by how she had been acting. “I’m  _ so sorry.” _

Stepping away from the statue and leaving it to be taken care of by the Lorbs, she hesitantly strode past Cassandra and Eugene, kneeling down beside Lance. The older man was staring at her with an unreadable expression, but he didn’t stop her when she reached out to lay a hand on Varian’s shoulder.

The boy shuddered violently, tightening his hold on Lance and the man frowned, shifting away from Rapunzel so she couldn’t reach them anymore and the princess winced. What was she to do? She already said sorry, she tried to comfort him, and Varian…

Her head lowered, a deep feeling of guilt settling down inside her gut and she did her best to hold back the tears. She didn’t deserve to let them fall. She had failed everyone, failed  _ Varian _ . 

_ Again. _

And she wasn’t sure how she could make it up to them.

“Raps…” Cassandra spoke softly after a few moments of silence. “I… think we should go work on the raft, give them some space.” But Rapunzel only stared at the ground, eyes blurry. She… she couldn’t leave yet. Not when she still hadn’t made it up to him.

“Varian  _ please.”  _ her voice cracked, almost begging. “I- tell me how to make it up to you.”

“Blondie, now isn’t the time, alright?” Eugene told her. His voice was firm, and he didn’t mean for it to sound harsh, but she couldn’t suppress a wince at it. “He just… he needs some space- I think we all do if I’m being honest.”

Rapunzel knew that they were right. And they were, but… how could she face Varian again if she didn’t make it right  _ now? _

“Raps, it’s time to go,” Cassandra said more firmly when the princess made no move to get up. She tugged on the blonde’s arm, forcing the younger woman up. “Can’t you see that you aren’t helping?” she asked when Rapunzel opened her mouth to protest and the princess shut up.

But she couldn’t resist one last look at the boys, the older men holding Varian close, not seeming to ever give off the feeling that they would stop, and she distantly wondered how they had gotten so close without her noticing. Surely she would’ve taken Lance and Eugene as an example and at least  _ tried  _ to grow closer to Varian. To make things up to him, to apologize for leaving him on his own for so long. And if she was being honest, she felt a pang of jealousy at their relationship. 

She supposed that a small part of her thought that it should’ve been  _ her  _ to be the one that Varian came to when he was upset. It should be  _ her _ that would hold Varian close and never give him the idea that she would ever let him go a second time. It  _ should  _ be _her_ that he could put his trust in the face of trials.

It should’ve been her.

It  _ could’ve  _ been her.

But the world doesn’t just work that way.

\----------

“Hey,”

Rapunzel winced, as the small figure approached her, looking down at the ground. Why was he here? She was probably the  _ last  _ person that he would want to talk to after today. But he didn’t take her silence as a refusal however and plopped down on the log next to her.

They stayed silent for a bit, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do. Should she wait for him to talk? Should she leave? Should she ignore him like she had been throughout the trip? She never wanted to do that again if she was being honest, it hadn’t gone well for either of them, but after what she said today… would he even  _ want  _ her to speak, but… there was one thing that she hadn’t tried.

“So… you can speak a bit?” she asked, meeting his eyes, and his face just…  _ lit up  _ when she said that and she quickly squashed the feeling of hope that it could happen again. They couldn’t be friends. Not after what she did.

But he still nodded his head with the biggest grin, and made some hand gestures that she couldn’t really understand, but based on his posture and grin, she could tell that he was excited that she had acknowledged his new-found speaking ability. He began to make another sign, but stopped when he finally noticed her confused look that screamed _ “I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”  _ and his face fell.

Another wave of guilt settled in her stomach. Why did she have to be stupid and not join in with the boys and their ASL lessons. If she had been better, and if she had really cared, she would’ve. But the sad truth was that… she  _ hadn’t.  _ She hadn’t cared about learning sign language because she hadn’t cared about  _ Varian. _

She sighed. Well, now was as good a time as ever to get an apology in.

“Varian I’m sorry.” she began, and when he didn’t stop her, she continued. “I ignored you, hurt you, lied to you, abandoned you, mistreated you, yelled at you, and- and I- I’m  _ so sorry.” _

She looked over at him to see his reaction, but he had an unreadable expression on his face that she couldn’t understand. He almost seemed… satisfied?

“I… And I know that you deserved better, from your king, from your kingdom, from your princess…” she paused, not sure if it would be okay to say the next part, but she did. “From your friend…” But he didn’t correct her, and she inwardly heaved a sigh of relief and went on.

“And I know that we-  _ I-  _ can’t make it up to you with just words. And I know that you would never have any obligation to forgive me, and I don’t expect you to, but...” she looked up, meeting his eyes this time. “I… I’ll try to do better.”

Varian studied her for a few moments, and she was honestly expecting him to stand up and leave, just like that. Not that she would blame him of course, she deserved it if he chose to hate her. However, she soon found that he would always find a new way to surprise her.

With a small smile tugging on his lips, he leaned forward and  _ hugged  _ her.

“‘O’k,” his small, barely intelligible voice came out and Rapunzel couldn’t hold back the tears as they came pouring out.

Letting out a sob, she wrapped her arms around his way-too-skinny form and held him close. Holding him like this was… nice. It was usually  _ her _ to be the one that comforted others, and to be someone that would tell them that it was okay to make mistakes and that they could fix things.

But at the same time, she shouldn’t be the one that would receive help, it should be  _ him  _ that she would consol. She was the princess, and… she had wronged him. So why was he, the child in this situation, being the comfort to her?

“I’m sorry Varian…” she mumbled into his shoulder, her tears subsiding the smallest bit. “You shouldn’t have to-” she stopped when Varian just squeezed her harder and she felt a small laugh bubble out. She felt absolutely ridiculous, being shut up by a boy one foot shorter than her who couldn’t even talk.

Eventually, Varian pulled away and made a circular motion with his thumb pressed against his chest. She couldn’t understand it, as usual, but she understood the message.

She smiled at him, opening her mouth to say something, but another figure plopped on the log beside Varian and laid a large arm around the younger boy’s shoulder.

“Well ain’t that a pretty sunset?” Lance noted and Varian smiled, snuggling into the man’s chest and smiling contently.

“Yeah, I am  _ not  _ missing this!” Eugene added, scooping in the spot between Varian and Rapunzel, reaching his arms around the other three people and pulling them into a nice group hug. “Common Cass, we know you were also hiding in the bushes with us.” Eugene hummed and Rapunzel heard a loud sigh behind them as Cassandra stepped into view and sat down next to Rapunzel. She didn’t join in the group hug, however, only sitting just far enough away so that Eugene couldn’t snatch her up, but she was there, and that was what mattered.

“Wait, so you guys were just… watching us?” Rapunzel asked, raising her eyebrow as she rested her head on Eugene’s shoulder.

“Well-” Eugene hesitated, but Lance jumped in. 

“Nope!” the thief popped the ‘p,’ and at Varian’s clinical eye-brow raise, the man only smirked. “We were  _ also _ eating some delectable blackberries!” he opened his palm and showed the small pieces of fruit to Varian, the teen eagerly snatching them up and placing a few in his mouth, causing Lance to chuckle. “It seems that we have found a treat for you yet!”

“Mhp-” Varian swallowed a berry and gave Lance a buck-toothed grin, some berry juice staining his teeth.

Cassandra seemed to notice this and rolled her eyes. “Once we get off this place, we’re going to need a big dental clean.”

Varian’s ears perked up at this and he stood up, walking over to a hanging palm tree and pulling a coconut off of it. He held out the fruit to Cassandra, and after a moment of confusion, she took it and pulled out her sword and, bracing it against the log, cracked it open.

The boy grinned when the lady-in-waiting handed over the dripping half and pulled out a small yellow petal from his pocket and squeezed it above the coconut. A small stream of liquid seeped out of it and dribbled into the natural cup as he sat back down and snuggled into Lance’s arms again, sipping from it and swishing the composition around in his mouth before promptly spitting it out onto the sand.

“Well…” Eugene raised an eyebrow at this and chuckled when Varian held out the coconut to him, lightly pushing it away. “No thanks kid, I think my teeth are good.” Varian’s teasing smile stayed in place and, after giving Lance a sip, he held it out to Rapunzel expectantly.

She stared at the cup for a bit, wondering if this was just about getting their teeth clean with that firm nod that Varian gave her when she took it, cleaning off her teeth and spitting it out onto the ground. She handed it back to Varian, who, after meeting her eyes again with a soft smile, handed it to Cass, who like Eugene, refused.

Rapunzel laughed when Varian tossed the rest of the concoction onto a bush behind them, accidentally splashing some on Lance who in turn stole back Varian’s blackberries and they dashed off, Varian chasing after the older man for a few seconds before Lance tripped and Varian tackled him, sending sand flying into the air as they wrestled over the berries.

And she smiled at the sight, ignoring the feeling of longing to be part of it, because, for once, it was okay to sit back and let them be happy without her.

She could deal, because it made them happy.

And she would deal, because he deserved just that.


End file.
